


Ghosts That We Knew

by alltheglowingeyes



Series: PJO/HoO/ToA One Shots [35]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Emotional Hurt, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Post-The Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus), Pre-The Trials of Apollo, Sibling Bonding, Sisters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:20:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27137203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alltheglowingeyes/pseuds/alltheglowingeyes
Summary: After the Giant War, Hylla and Reyna spend a day catching up. It goes better than either could have expected.
Relationships: Hylla Ramírez-Arellano & Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano
Series: PJO/HoO/ToA One Shots [35]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1861492
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28





	Ghosts That We Knew

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt from anon user Bri:  
> can you do a one-shot about Hylla and Reyna spending a day together?
> 
> Thank you for the request! I'm sorry this took a while to write up, but I really appreciated being challenged to write something not Solangelo for once heh. I went back partly through BoO to read more of Reyna and Hylla's dynamic, as well as the events that occurred, but some things might be a little off. If that's the case, I apologize and I hope you still like what I wrote!
> 
> The title comes from the song Ghosts That We Knew by Mumford and Sons.
> 
> Enjoy!:)
> 
> -alltheglowingeyes

Reyna was a pretty sociable person. She could project confidence and strength whenever she needed, helping her rise through the ranks in Camp Jupiter. And yet, whenever she was around Hylla, she felt a sense of powerlessness take her over. It was like a switch flipped in her brain and made her feel like a little kid all over again.

So when Hylla proposed a "sisters outing", Reyna was tempted to pass. However, she remembered her discomfort and conflict at the idea of not knowing what happened to Hylla after their fight with Orion in San Juan. She figured at least going to meet Hylla for a little would put any feelings of unrest down, and they could wait another ten years or so till their next forced bonding.

Hylla met her about twenty minutes away from Camp Jupiter. The two exchanged a wordless greeting as Hylla mentioned something about getting ice cream. Reyna just nodded along, following her sister to whatever small ice cream shop Hylla had found. The two ordered separately before settling silently at an outdoor table. Reyna sat straight, focusing on her ice cream as she felt her sister's hard gaze on her.

Hylla broke the silence first, looking a little bored and annoyed. “Alright, why are you sulking?”

Reyna frowned sharply at her sister. “What are you talking about?”

Hylla rolled her eyes, looking very serious for someone holding a mint chocolate chip ice cream. “You’ve got that face you make when you’re annoyed with me. Like this,” she demonstrated as she morphed her expression to be more intense with a wrinkled nose.

Reyna huffed, making a conscious effort to keep her expression less tight. “I don’t do that.”

“I raised you, sister. I think I can read you well enough,” the Amazonian scoffed. Reyna felt a pang of anger take her over.

“Well, I said you’re wrong. So drop it, ok?”

Hylla raised an eyebrow, her expression reading I told you. Reyna sighed, gaze wary as she observed her sister.

“I suppose I have… some questions.”

Hylla hummed, half done with her ice cream. “Lay it on me then.”

Reyna swallowed, putting forth her most confident aura as she went straight in. “You bought back the old house. Why?”

Hylla stiffened slightly before seeming to make a conscious effort to relax. “I already told you, Reyna, I was done trying to run from it all. I wanted to reclaim our past, maybe understand what happened to _him_.”

Reyna scowled, mixing her melting butterscotch ice cream in front of her. “There are other ways you could go about that. Why that place? There is nothing to learn from it.”

Hylla sighed, pushing some of her silky hair away from her face. Her eyes reflected a softness that was uncharacteristic for her. “Look, I understand that for you, coping was moving on and finding your own path, leaving behind everything. For me… I can’t do it. I need to know what happened and I want to face whatever evils we left behind. Besides, it wasn’t necessarily the house that was at fault, but rather the people living in it.”

Reyna sighed quietly. In truth, everything Hylla said made sense. Nonetheless, something still nagged at the back of her mind.

“And what about the ghosts?”

Hylla frowned, ice cream fresh out now as she leaned in a little more. “What about them? When dad… was removed, the rest went with him.”

Reyna shook her head, eyeing her sister carefully. “I saw them, Hylla. They’re still there.”

The worry lines creasing her sister’s forehead were exacerbated. “What do you mean? When did you see them?” she demanded.

Reyna worried her bottom lip slightly. “The night with Orion, when Thalia, Nico, and Coach Hedge led me out… they were right there, on the balcony.”

Hylla narrowed her eyes. “Did your compatriots see them? If it was the son of Hades, perhaps his powers just manifested them or-”

Reyna shook her head, locking eyes with her sister. “They’re still there. We all saw them. They were…” she sighed, fidgeting with her silver ring, “They were accusing me, reminding me of what I did to dad.”

Hylla frowned, nodding. “I see.”

Reyna looked away, vaguely wondering when she could just leave. Her attention was drawn back to Hylla as her sister’s hand enclosed her own in a rare show of affection.

“What you did to him… it was what you needed to do. Maybe it wasn’t right, but you were scared, Reyna. You were so young too,” she sighed, leaning back in her seat. "You're a good kid, sister. You've worked so hard to redeem yourself and outrun the ghosts. But have you ever considered that maybe it's time to face them down?"

Shaking her head, she sighed. "Perhaps. I just... I don't think I am ready for it."

Hylla hummed lightly, "You are still young. You can take as much time as you need to figure out how to make peace with everything. And if or when you decide to revisit the old house, to put these ghosts to rest, the house will be there." She shot Reyna a flickering smile, "Good?"

Reyna nodded, feeling as though some of the heavy pressure in her chest has dissipated. She shot her sister a sideways smile.

"Now that all of _that's_ over, I could go for a second round of ice cream."

Hylla shot her a look, raising an eyebrow. "You haven't even finished your current ice cream, and you want _more_?"

Reyna shrugged, smirking lightly. "It's all melted. Besides, if this is _really_ a sister's outing, you should be treating me."

Rolling her eyes, Hylla sniffed, "It's not supposed to be one-sided. But I _suppose_ I can humor you and your ridiculous sweet tooth for a little longer."

Reyna was about to protest, but then remembered the bowl of jellybeans sitting on her desk with a large _DO NOT TOUCH_ and decided against it, instead just shooting her sister a quick grin.

"Taking that as a yes then."

Her sister harrumphed, but nonetheless smiled back. The two lapsed back into silence, and yet this time there was something more comforting about the silence.

Yes, Reyna could get used to this.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeehawwwwww. I don't have much to say here. Feedback is much appreciated, especially regarding how I wrote Reyna and Hylla.
> 
> Leave any requests/headcanons, if you want!
> 
> You can follow me on my tumblr @alltheglowingeyess for updates on multichapter fics/a compiled list of my one-shots/random Riordanverse shit, or to just say hi. :)


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